up on the house-top

i really like this commercial only because of the song:

wedding year

it is wedding year for me... that's what i like to call it.
since september, i have been to five weddings. i still have three more to go in the next 6 or 7 months! and i love it!

i love going to weddings and i am so thankful that i am even invited! all of these wonderful people are special to me in so many different ways. so here are a few pictures of the weddings i have been to so far. Enjoy!!

starting from the top left to right:
lauren & jacob
kaitlin & allan
suzanna & tom
emily & john
erika & chadwick

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week is over. this year, i really didn't have a thanksgiving.
i worked on thanksgiving day. as i reflect on this week i realize that i missed my usual traditions but in a way, i am glad. i got to experience another side of Thanksgiving. i experienced the "hospital" aspect of it. being at work while your family is at home enjoying one another & they miss you. However, you cant go see them because everyone has left by the time you get off. I also understand now what it means to not have your family home if they are in the military. I am very grateful that i got to work and then go home but our soldiers are in either another state or across the world. of course i will never know how it really feels unless it happens to me but i now understand a little bit of what they are going through. i pray for all those soldiers out there who are willing to fight for us. it really is an honor to know someone who is fighting for us.

i am thankful for:
1. my God, Husband, Daddy
2. my family
3. my wonderful friends
4. my job
5. my church
6. the awesome kids who i get to spend most of my time with (FUEL SM) :D

apartment

so i tried taking a few pictures of my room in my apartment. the lighting was terrible so i will try again tomorrow and will post them on here. B&N is about to close and i wish it wasn't, but it's probably a good thing so i can go home and go to bed :D

quick update:
my new job is going well. it's gotten even better now that i have a friend who works with me now. we have been in training all week. we have gone out to lunch every day & we have gone to only local restaurants. i will have to expand on where we went on my next post.

time to go because they are closing.
have a wonderful night!

TOMS

tonight, i got to see Blake Macoskie speak at Birmingham Southern College. it was great to hear how he started the company as well as see his passion for TOMS. i can tell his passion has grown more now than ever! i loved his honesty on how he felt about the business when it started. we all had some great laughs from the stories he told too.

my favorite part about his stories was the story about his very first drop off. he mentioned his mother going on the trip and as she was giving out shoes, she washed the kids' feet before putting on the shoes. i was reminded of when Jesus washed the disciples' feet.

i was in awe of the stories that he told & i wonder if he believes in the Lord. all the stories he told about the shoe drops made me think about the Lord & how he can move in the smallest ways. giving shoes to those who need them, using people who will sacrifice their time to travel to see these lovely children who are in need but really want to be loved.

the longing of returning to China returned and my heart is stirred again. i want to be there again so badly. I want to see all the girls i formed friendships with again & be there to encourage them & to love on them. i found out that TOMS has a factory in China now & that really excites me because now some Chinese people have jobs. goodness, i love China.

needless to say i know what design i want to put on a new pair of TOMS. now i just need to buy some more :P